There exist numerous prior art designs for ground anchors, usually in the form of posts that are to be secured into the ground and that are adapted for the mounting of a sign or the like thereon. Many of these prior art devices incorporate features that make them more useful than simple stakes driven into the ground. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,402 to Berry-Tremmel et al. discloses a support frame for a sign that includes a spiraled surface about the sign mounting stake which may be used to screw the sign into the ground by rotating the sign about the axis of the stake. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,650 to Ottoson discloses a signpost having a pair of triangular fins extending therefrom that are situated below the surface of the ground when the signpost is mounted into the ground. These projecting fins prevent the sign from being twisted about the axis of the mounting stake (such as by wind and the like) because of interaction between the fins and the earth.
While such prior art devices provide desirable features, these desirable features have previously been considered to be mutually exclusive in that a signpost cannot have both a spiraled surface for screwing the stake into the ground and fins projecting from the stake. This is because, according to the teachings of the prior art, the fins would prevent the stake from being screwed into the ground.
There is therefore a need for a ground anchor that permits the use of both an integral auger for ease in screwing the anchor into the ground and projecting fins for preventing unwanted rotation of the anchor after installation. The present invention is directed toward meeting this need.